This is a huge anniversary weekend for me. I’ll observe one in this blog post, and then I’ll observe another one in tomorrow’s blog post, and then I’ll observe yet another one in Sunday’s blog post.

On November 30TH 1987 – the Monday after Thanksgiving that year – I boarded a plane in the Washington D.C. area (my original hometown) – for Miami Florida. I had never been there before, and I knew very little about it other than the fact that the weather would be much sunnier and warmer than the Washington D.C. area. I arrived in Miami that night, and I awaited my military transportation from Miami to Homestead AFB. It eventually arrived, and I arrived on the base during the wee early morning hours of December 01ST 1987. I was Active Duty in the USAF back then – an A1C / E3.

Hurricane Andrew destroyed Homestead AFB on August 24TH 1992, but then it was partially rebuilt. (Its geographic location ultimately saved it.) I returned to the base almost 19 months later upon its grand reopening as Homestead ARS (and then Homestead ARB). I still work on the base today. Nowadays (and for the past 11 years) I crunch numbers and count money.

So Happy 31ST Anniversary to me at the airbase near Homestead Florida. I arrived when I was 20½, and now I’m 51½. I wasn’t expecting to spend most of my life working there, but that’s what’s happened. I thought that I had seen the last of the airbase after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but here I am 26 years later. I think I have another 5 good years in me before it’ll be time to pack it up, retire, and move away from this Homestead.

It’s the start of a fresh new weekend, as weekends always begin on Thursdays here on my blog. This is a holiday weekend here in the U.S.A. Veterans’ Day is this Sunday November 11TH, and since it’s a Sunday this year the federal holiday will actually be observed on Monday November 12TH.

To all of my fellow Veterans I wish you a safe and secure holiday weekend. Have lots of fun, and take advantage of some of the discounts and freebies out there at stores and restaurants. Thank You for your service to our country !

33 years ago this weekend was my final weekend of Basic Military Training (BMT) at Lackland AFB (San Antonio) Texas. Back then Air Force Basic Training was 30 weekdays (not including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays). On the 31ST weekday you were shipped out to either technical school at another base (unless your school was at Lackland), or to your first permanent duty station. My technical school was located at Chanute AFB (Rantoul) Illinois.

The 30TH and final weekday of Basic Training for me and my flightmates was on Friday July 26TH 1985. On Saturday and Sunday we were basically on hold for the weekend with not much to do (“liberty in place”) awaiting the 31ST weekday on Monday July 29TH 1985. Our Training Instructor (T.I.) came in on that Saturday morning and surprisingly started talking nice to us like regular people – unlike the previous 30 weekdays in which he yelled and screamed at us. He told us to enjoy the weekend, listen to the radio, and stay out of trouble until Monday morning. He then left us alone for the rest of the weekend.

So we listened to the T.I.’s radio all weekend – a Top 40 radio station in San Antonio, and we heard all of the greatest hits of the day. We even listened to “American Top 40 With Casey Kasem” on Sunday morning. Further down on the Billboard Hot 100 that weekend were these hits that we heard over and over again in heavy rotation: “Raspberry Beret” – Prince And The Revolution (# 7), “Sussudio” – Phil Collins (# 13), “Freeway Of Love” – Aretha Franklin (# 19), and “Like A Surgeon” – “Weird Al” Yankovic (# 68).

Early on Monday morning we left the pop music behind, boarded busses, saw Lackland AFB behind us, and proceeded to the next chapter of our new military career.

It’s halftime. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with my remaining two blogs for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Make memories of a lifetime !

It’s Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S.A. Some of us will be going on vacation, and some of us have already gotten a head-start on that. It’s the unofficial start of Summertime, and some schools are out for the season. It’s a time for beaches and barbeques. It’s a time to explore this great nation of ours.

Unlike most of our other Federal and otherwise observed holidays this is not a happy holiday. It’s never appropriate to say “Happy Memorial Day”. It is one of our most solemn days of the year – a day to remember and honor those brave military men and women who gave up the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and our nation – their lives. We must never forget them. We must always remember the reason for this holiday weekend.